Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education 
(http://chronicle.com) was forwarded to you from:

  


The following message was enclosed:
  This is long, but a good article.

_________________________________________________________________

This article is available online at this address:

http://chronicle.com/weekly/v50/i08/08a04501.htm

              - The text of the article is below -
_________________________________________________________________

Finding it hard to keep up with all that's happening in academe?
The Chronicle's e-mailed Daily Report keeps you up-to-date in a
matter of minutes by quickly summarizing current events in higher
education while providing links to complete coverage on our
subscriber-only Web site. The Daily Report and Web access come
with your Chronicle subscription at no extra cost. Order your
subscription now at http://chronicle.com/4free?es ;
_________________________________________________________________


  From the issue dated 10/17/2003



  Gang-Rape Scandal Roils Elite Japanese University

  By CATHERINE MAKINO


    Shinichiro Wada was a successful entrepreneur. The perpetual
  sophomore at Waseda University ran one of the city's most
  popular university social clubs, called Super Free, whose
  parties attracted thousands of students. Women came to meet
  well-heeled young men from elite universities. Men came to
  meet young women. The money from ticket sales made Mr. Wada a
  wealthy man.
  
  He was also, prosecutors allege, a rapist. Now standing trial
  with five other men, Mr. Wada may have masterminded more than
  a dozen gang rapes of young women who attended Super Free
  parties, police say. After one young woman came forward this
  summer claiming that she had been raped, others reported that
  they, too, had been gang raped at events affiliated with Super
  Free.
  
  How such a calculated and vicious scheme could flourish is a
  question that Japanese academics, law-enforcement officials,
  and others are still trying to sort out. The scandal has
  tarnished Waseda, one of the country's top private
  universities, and raised questions about the ways in which
  students have used its prestige for personal gain. The scandal
  has also highlighted the central role that social clubs and
  drinking play in college here. In a country where most
  university students spend more time socializing than studying,
  groups such as Super Free can have an enormous influence on
  students' lives.
  
  Last month, the six men on trial, all former members of the
  Super Free club, pleaded guilty to raping either one or both
  of two women whose cases are being heard. Because Japanese law
  does not allow convictions simply on the basis of confession,
  the trial is still under way. At the time of the alleged
  rapes, five of the six men, including Mr. Wada, were students
  at elite Tokyo universities. Mr. Wada gave a public apology of
  sorts but denied that the rapes were premeditated.
  
  "There is no mistaking that we raped the women, and for that
  I'm very sorry," he said at the start of the trial, in Tokyo
  District Court. "But I never set out deliberately to commit
  these acts."
  
  Sophisticated System
  
  Prosecutors disagree. Super Free, they charge, had a
  sophisticated system for arranging gang rapes. The club's
  officers selected young women for small, secondary parties
  that began after the large parties ended. These after-parties
  were usually held at small restaurants or bars. There the
  women were encouraged to play word games, which were rigged.
  When the women lost, they were obliged to down strong,
  vodka-based drinks.
  
  Once a woman started feeling sick, she was offered tea to make
  her feel better. But the tea was mixed with more alcohol. When
  she went to the restroom to vomit, she was attacked in a
  stairwell or other secluded place. According to police
  reports, as many as 12 men would participate in a rape. In
  order to keep victims from reporting the crime, the men took
  photographs of the women naked and threatened to make the
  pictures public. Police said they confiscated many photos of
  women being raped by several men.
  
  For months, the scandal has absorbed the news media's
  attention, which is noteworthy in a country where newspapers
  rarely cover charges of rape. In the coverage, Mr. Wada, 28,
  has emerged as a charismatic figure to Super Free members. He
  joined as a Waseda student in 1994 and eventually took over
  the club's leadership. He marketed it aggressively -- often
  using his image in advertisements -- and membership mushroomed
  after 2000 as Super Free began setting up branches in other
  parts of the country.
  
  Studying seemed a secondary pursuit for Mr. Wada. He spent
  nearly a decade as a student in Waseda's department of
  politics and economics. He was expelled once for failing to
  pay his tuition but later re-enrolled. His main enterprise was
  making money from running Super Free. By the time he was
  arrested, his annual salary was near $100,000.
  
  When news of the rape charges broke, an anonymous former
  member of the club told the Shukan Post, a weekly national
  magazine, that "Wada was always leading the rapes and
  concealing them by manipulating the organization. 
  
  "Whenever Wada committed rape, he got several members involved
  in the crime," the former member said. "When Wada found that
  members were not participating, he attacked them. He
  threatened them, saying, 'You are destroying the team.'
  Members could not resist him.
  
  "Wada made everyone surrounding him complicit in the crime. No
  one would go to the police, because they were also involved in
  the rapes. ... When his men introduced coeds that they knew to
  Wada, they were promoted. Wada created a pyramid of sex and
  money, placing himself at the top." 
  
  Yoshitsugu Hiraga, a 22-year-old senior at Waseda with hair
  dyed light brown and fashionably plucked eyebrows, says he
  attended several Super Free parties. 
  
  "The last time I went, the party was at Club Twister, in
  Idabashi," he says, mentioning a Tokyo neighborhood. "There
  were basically two types of guys there -- those who enjoyed
  dancing and those who were girl-hunting. I remember seeing
  Wada dancing on a platform. There were very many female
  students from other universities, but many of the male
  students were from Waseda. I also went to the second party, at
  an izakaya [a traditional pub]. Thirty students came. The
  party started with Wada giving a speech. At first people were
  drinking normally, but it got crazy later. Some Super Free
  members tried livening up the girls by playing ikki," a game
  in which an individual gulps down a large drink while others
  shout "Ikki, ikki, ikki!" 
  
  "Some of the drunk guys were making out with girls, kissing
  them," adds Mr. Hiraga. "I saw one guy take a girl to the
  bathroom, but I don't know what happened there."
  
  One of the contributing factors to the success of Super Free
  -- and something that also helped the alleged gang rapes to go
  unrecognized for so long -- is the senpai/kohai hierarchy, a
  cultural tradition that is instilled in the Japanese psyche
  from early on in school. It is a system in which an older,
  more experienced person acts as a mentor to a younger person,
  and strong emotional bonds are formed. The younger student, or
  kohai, is expected to respect the senpai. In return, the
  senpai is expected to show concern and kindness toward the
  kohai. The relationship usually continues throughout their
  lives. When students enter college, many different kinds of
  senpai await them -- in the departments of their universities,
  in the dormitories, and in the social clubs.
  
  Super Free cashed in on this system by developing a strict
  hierarchy of its own to control its 30 core members, who could
  attend Super Free events at no charge. According to an
  anonymous former leader quoted by the Shukan Post, they were
  organized into three categories -- First Army, Second Army and
  Boys. They all followed orders from Mr. Wada. The Second Army
  and First Army were primarily responsible for selling tickets
  to the parties; the more they sold, the higher they rose in
  the hierarchy.
  
  Although Super Free was a popular club, with branches in other
  parts of Japan, students say its wild parties were hardly
  typical of most social clubs. Tamiya Takahito, a senior at
  Waseda, calls Super Free a "rotten apple."
  
  Students agree, however, that social clubs play a major,
  sometimes central, role in college. At Waseda, the
  university's 50,000 students can choose from among 450
  registered clubs, based on interests as varied as physics,
  arts and crafts, language, martial arts, music, and
  matchmaking. The university has estimated that 95 percent of
  its students are involved in social clubs.
  
  Inside the Circle
  
  Clubs are able to flourish on the campuses because so little
  emphasis is placed on academic work. With the exception of
  students studying science, medicine, or technology, the
  Japanese see college as a four-year break in an otherwise
  pressured-filled life. 
  
  Traditionally, Japanese students work hard academically from
  childhood, in order to gain entrance to a good university.
  Their ideal reward is enrollment in an elite institution, with
  the attendant social status, which can help them for the rest
  of their lives.
  
  Grades matter little; prospective employers typically base
  their evaluations on the universities that job applicants
  attended. Students from elite universities, therefore, have
  the least incentive to study.
  
  Social clubs are called "circles," which reflects a tendency
  among people in Japan to feel comfortable only with those whom
  they know well -- inside the circle. Many students say they
  spend at least as much time on club activities as they do on
  studies. "Besides going to classes, I only study for my
  midterm and final exams," says Mr. Takahito, who devotes about
  17 hours a week to his opera club.
  
  Stephen Church, a 1989 Waseda alumnus from Britain and an
  owner of Analytica Company, a Tokyo-based firm that does
  financial research, says the clubs' significance should not be
  underestimated. "The order of importance at college is, first
  comes the club, second comes the part-time job, and third
  comes the school lectures," he says.
  
  A student's choice of club is important, too, he says. "It's
  where you meet your future contacts and network."
  
  Kae Asahi, a senior at Ochanomizu University, says she spends
  most of her time going out with other members of her badminton
  club. "I also learned how to drink at the club parties," she
  says.
  
  No matter what the focus of the club is, almost all of them
  hold drinking parties.
  
  Drinking and Bonding
  
  In Japan, a society with complex, often rigid social rules,
  drinking is serious business. It is considered an acceptable
  way to let go. People generally are not held accountable for
  what they say when they are drinking. But while some
  inappropriate behavior might be permitted, criminal activity
  is not.
  
  The drinking parties are vital to the social bonds that hold
  the circles together. Some clubs have such parties only once
  or twice a year, but it is more common for clubs to hold them
  once or twice a month.
  
  "We always talk about deep stuff, which we usually can't talk
  about when we are sober," says Ryujin Arai, 21, a senior at
  Waseda who is in a mountain-climbing club. "This means that we
  can know each other's hearts and inner selves." He attends
  drinking parties several times a week.
  
  Teruko Kobayashi, a 20-year-old student at Waseda who belongs
  to a language club and a circle of students from her hometown,
  doesn't like to drink but goes to her clubs' parties anyway.
  "It's a good opportunity to become close friends with club
  members," she says.
  
  Drinking parties usually last about two hours, with scheduled
  start and stop times. Afterward, the large group splits into
  smaller, less formal groups for second parties, held in
  "karaoke boxes" -- rented spaces, set up like casual
  conference rooms -- or private rooms in pubs. Any problems
  that arise from the clubs' social events typically take place
  at these secondary parties. Usually, though, the problems are
  limited to excessive rowdiness.
  
  Blaming the Victims
  
  Students, along with the general public, have had mixed
  reactions to the Super Free scandal. The crimes, and the
  alleged rapists, are widely reviled, but some men and women
  alike are quick to criticize the victims as well. 
  
  "In my opinion, some girls were too open-minded to people they
  didn't know," said Mr. Hiraga, the Waseda senior, who attended
  several Super Free parties.
  
  "I think both men and women were at fault," said Miki Shingo,
  a 19-year-old woman who attends Waseda. "It's criminal what
  the men did, but the women should be careful, too."
  
  Several politicians have gone further. Seichi Ota, a
  57-year-old former cabinet member, said publicly that "gang
  rape shows the people who do it are still virile, and that's
  OK. I think that might make them close to normal." The
  minister of gender equality, Yasuo Fukuda, was quoted as
  saying, "The problem is that there are lots of women who dress
  provocatively." 
  
  Yuko Kawanishi, a sociologist often cited in the foreign press
  and a professor at Tokyo Gakugai University, does not agree
  with the blame-the-victim mentality. But she does see the
  rapes as a symptom of a larger problem. Young people these
  days are lonely and don't know how to make friends in a
  healthy way, she says, attributing the situation to the
  loosening of Japan's traditionally close-knit family
  structure, among other things.
  
  "They don't know how and where to draw the line," she says.
  "For example, the young women at the Super Free parties had a
  problem assessing the reality of what was going on and then
  realized too late that something felt terribly wrong. Because
  they don't know the limits, they don't know how to construct
  healthy relationships."
  
  "The Japanese do not condone Super Free's type of behavior --
  and it's a serious crime," Ms. Kawanishi says. "What's
  different in Japan today is that people are beginning to talk
  about rape, and there's a lot of reaction from women
  journalists, politicians, and many others to the ridiculous
  comments made by these politicians."
  
  University at Fault?
  
  As the gang-rape scandal has unfolded, academics and others
  have begun raising questions about the culpability of Waseda
  University in allowing such a club to flourish on its campus.
  Super Free lost its charter from the institution last year,
  after Waseda administrators began hearing complaints from
  other universities about the club's commercial activities.
  Waseda was also concerned about the vastly increasing numbers
  of members, and the creation of five offices in other parts of
  Japan, including the Osaka and Nagoya areas. "For these
  reasons, we realized that we could not manage the members
  anymore, so we removed the club from official registration in
  2002," says Nobuhide Morohashi, a university spokesman.
  
  After the arrests this summer of the men charged with rape,
  their universities expelled those who were still enrolled,
  including Mr. Wada. The university also dissolved the Super
  Free club, notifying each member that the club would be shut
  down.
  
  University officials say that with so many students and so
  many clubs, it is difficult for Waseda to keep tabs on all of
  their social activities. But some academics say university
  officials should have noticed Mr. Wada's obsession with making
  money. The university itself is one of the richest in Japan,
  with ownership of hotels and other business ventures. 
  
  Takao Yamamoto, a professor of economics at Kaetsu University,
  in Tokyo, finds such an emphasis on money unhealthy. "Waseda
  University's many outside business interests have had a bad
  influence on its students," he says. "Waseda is geared toward
  business and making money. They have forgotten about the
  ethics and purpose of university, which is studying." 
  
  What's more, he says, "Waseda University's many professors,
  who are leaders in the academic world, have largely remained
  silent about the crimes since the Super Free student circle
  surfaced."
  
  The university has taken steps to control the damage and
  ensure that such crimes will not happen again. After the
  gang-rape allegations surfaced, administrators warned students
  via e-mail that "Waseda University has considered its students
  adults, and has respected their freedom. But freedom and
  self-indulgence cannot be mixed. It is indulgent to think even
  the slightest abuse is acceptable, and, depending on one's
  perspective, it could even be considered arrogant. There is a
  difference in taking pride in being a Waseda University
  student and being arrogant about it."
  
  Waseda's president, Teruaki Tayama, has also apologized. "We
  are determined to take tough actions against such antisocial
  behavior," he said.
  
  Critics say he did not go far enough. "It seems that Waseda's
  statement and quick decision to expel Mr. Wada was made
  because they wanted to separate themselves from the incident,"
  says Mr. Yamamoto. "I believe they should speak out and take
  responsibility."
  
  Mr. Morohashi, the Waseda spokesman, says the university has
  contacted representatives of all of its clubs. "They will be
  given directions and guidelines on what is expected," he says.
  "The faculty will also spend time in making new guidelines for
  clubs."
  
  It is unlikely that the rape victims will sue the university
  for negligence, legal experts say, citing both an aversion to
  notoriety and the scarcity of monetary awards to crime
  victims. The university's own liability would depend, in part,
  on what sort of oversight it had assumed over registered
  clubs.
  
  Whatever the outcome of the trial, students are unlikely to
  look at drinking parties in the same way again. And the elite
  Waseda University has seen its reputation badly damaged. "If
  the alleged gang rape was the result of self-indulgence and
  arrogance," stated an editorial in Asahi Shimbun, one of the
  largest daily newspapers in Japan, "it will be difficult for
  the illustrious brand name to recover its luster." 
  
  Alan Brender and Masanori Chiba contributed to this article.


_________________________________________________________________

You may visit The Chronicle as follows:

   http://chronicle.com

_________________________________________________________________
Copyright 2003 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
>From 
>
>  Fri Oct 17 11:15:10 2003
Return-Path: 
<>
X-Original-To: 

Delivered-To: 

Received: from mailhub.mail.Virginia.EDU (mail.Virginia.EDU [128.143.2.9])
        by list.mail.Virginia.EDU (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7E2932D3482
        for 
<>;
        Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:15:10 -0400 (EDT)
Received: by mailhub.mail.Virginia.EDU (Postfix)
        id 77F6E8CA77; Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:15:10 -0400 (EDT)
Delivered-To: 

Received: from marge.bucknell.edu (marge.bucknell.edu [134.82.9.1])
        by mailhub.mail.Virginia.EDU (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4624D8CD14
        for 
<>;
 Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:15:10 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from antigen.bucknell.edu (antigen.bucknell.edu [134.82.9.20])
        by marge.bucknell.edu (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id h9HFEOJC025874
        for 
<>;
 Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:15:09 -0400 (EDT)
Received: from MDRAGIEW.bucknell.edu (mdragiew.bucknell.edu [134.82.49.22])
        by antigen.bucknell.edu (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id h9HFDUae012196
        for 
<>;
 Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:13:30 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: 
<>
X-Sender: 

X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.2.0.9
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:13:28 -0400
To: 

From: Molly Dragiewicz 
<>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
X-MailScanner: Found to be clean
Subject: bathroom flyer holders?
X-BeenThere: 

X-Mailman-Version: 2.1
Precedence: list
List-Id: Discussion List for sexual assault educators and counselors on
        campus. <sapc.list.mail.Virginia.EDU>
List-Unsubscribe: <https://list.mail.Virginia.EDU/mailman/listinfo/sapc>,
        
<mailto:?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://list.mail.Virginia.EDU/pipermail/sapc>
List-Post: 
<mailto:>
List-Help: 
<mailto:?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <https://list.mail.Virginia.EDU/mailman/listinfo/sapc>,
        
<mailto:?subject=subscribe>
X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 15:15:10 -0000

Hi All,

I am interested in getting some Lucite flyer holders installed on the 
inside doors of bathroom stalls here to use for health and safety education 
including sexual assault prevention, information, and resources.

I am interested in all aspects of this proposed project:

1. Other people's experiences using this medium, positive and negative 
outcomes
2. Any research on the effectiveness of this tactic
3. Any information from anyone who has done this kind of education with 
pre-post testing to measure effectiveness
4. Any problems that have arisen using this approach (vandalism, students 
replacing flyers, holders falling off the doors etc)
5. Vendors that sell such holders cheap
6. Advice on what holder designs work best

The facilities staff is reluctant to try this but is willing to try a 
pilot, so I want lots of info going in.

Their concerns are that the holders would stop being used (which I wouldn't 
predict), cleaning difficulties, and potential damage to the stalls if they 
fall off or are removed later.

If you have any experience using this mode of education, please let me know 
how it went!

Thanks.

Best,

Molly Dragiewicz
Director
Women's Resource Center
Bucknell University

(570) 577 1375